Have any pictures? Candice Olson of Divine Design uses recess cans in traditional and contemporary design rooms. Do the smaller size cans if you use them.

My personal preference is not to use cans in the bedroom. We have two wall sconces on each side of our bed, and a lamp on my husband's tall dresser. There's also lights in our ceiling fan, which are NEVER used because it makes the room look too harsh and bright. I don't like bright overhead light in the bedroom, much preferring soft lighting in reading or task areas.

I have two lamps on either side of the bed with 3-way bulbs. I have noticed that the room can be dark at night and have thought about getting a floor lamp of some sort, but never have because I don't spend that much time in my bedroom except when I'm in bed and I have my lamps for reading.

I think about it mostly when I'm cleaning, painting or doing some type of task where I want more light.

You might get some other kinds of bulbs for your ceiling fan if you want the light to be softer and less harsh. Lower the wattage or put it on a dimmer.

4 lamps and a chandelier

I like the recessed lights in the ceiling for cleaning the bedroom, sorting clothes, getting dressed. But for reading or watching TV, I use table lamps. A torchiere lamp that takes a 150 watt bulb would probably give you the light you need, and it would be cheaper than installing recessed lights.

Here is an example from lampsplus. There are less expensive ones. All you need to look for is the light going up (torchiere vs floor lamp) and capable of taking 150 watt bulb.

Here is a link that might be useful: Torchiere

My room has a ceiling light that I almost never use, although if I'm dusting or cleaning on an overcast day, it's useful.

There's a lamp on either side of the bed, and two more lamps, one on each side of the room. I'd like to put another lamp on the wall that faces the foot of the bed, but there's no outlet there.

Also consider the height of the lamps. If all the lamps are low or on low tables, the majority of the light is focused down. Consider a taller lamp or a floor lamp to raise some of the light up. Lamp shades are also part of the picture. A metal shade focuses light down and up, but doesn't let light through. A fabric shade glows when the light is on and the light isn't as focused, but more of a general glow.

I'm a gal who dislikes any ceiling lights in my house as they do look harsh to me, too. In our MBR I have a lamp with 3-way bulbs on either side of the bed. Nice ones that are good for reading and have a very low setting for other times. I have a floor lamp with a 3-way bulb in one reading area, a lamp on my dresser and a small chandelier with shades in the other reading area. That last one is on a rheostat to keep it low when needed. Our ceiling fan has no lights on it, at my request. IMO, there's more than enough light in there and I can't imagine the need for the extra light an overhead would add.
Lynn

Do any of you read in bed? I do and the light on the nightstand isn't enough. Any suggestions?

I have one recessed light which is situated right in front of the closet door/ensuite & entry doors, other than that, just two bedside lamps. Personally, I find it far too dark. I wish I had some kind of hanging fixture (chandelier perhaps) or recessed lighting in the room. This is for the same reasons graywings mentioned, cleaning, sorting laundry etc.

I refused to put can lighting in the cathedral ceilings of our MBR and great room. Instead, each room has 4 sconces - set high on the walls, just over 8 feet - and lamp. MBR has two bedside lamps and the great room has 3 table lamps/1 floor lamp.

Here's an old shot of our MBR showing a sconce:

{{!gwi}}

We have a ceiling fan with a light kit (blends in with the cathedral ceiling) that is only used when packing for a trip, cleaning, etc. Our house faces north and we live in a very wooded area so we need extra light on occasion. I also have 3-way bulbs in the nightstand lamps. I originally had 60 watt lamps - but not enough light.

So many great ideas! I think I need to post a picture, AFTER I spend an hour or so straightening up. LOL.

We do read in bed. I think new lamps on the bedside tables will help with this problem, but their are still going to be some dark corners.

I have can lights in the hallway entrance and sitting area and reading lights on the night tables. The can lights have a regular switch at the entrance to the MBR and a dimmer switch next to the bed.

Lamps on the two bedside tables, a lamp on my dresser and on DH's chifferobe. I am not a fan of overhead lighting in bedrooms, unless it is a chandelier which is used for atmosphere, not utility.

oceanna, there are a couple of things you can do to get enough light to read by. First, how tall is your bedside lamp? It needs to be tall enough so that the light falls downward on your book--many lamps are just not tall enough.

Second, if your lamp has the standard 60 watt bulb, you can get a table lamp that takes a three-way bulb. If you really like the lamp you have now, you can have it rewired to take a three-way bulb.

Look into a lamp that clips to your headboard, or a swing arm lamp, either one on the wall or a table lamp on your bedside table.

Adding other lamps around the room increases the overall amount of light. Not a complete solution, but it helps. Although you can't just turn out the bedside light and go to sleep; you have to get out of bed and turn all the other lamps off first.

If all else fails, there are little lights that clip onto your book. I don't really like them, as they interfere with turning the pages, but if nothing else works, it's worth a try.

Let's see:

Swing-arm lamps on each side of the bed. Yes we read in bed!

Large old lamp on my dresser across from the bed.

Large old lamp on the small sideboard -- just as you enter the room.

Small very groovy lamp by the seating area.

Plus lights on the very-necessary-but-hated ceiling fan -- rarely used but helpful when taking photos!

Oh! -- and a lamp on the counter in the adjoining master bathroom ......

Did I mention that I am a lamp addict? ........ LOL! :)

Jan

I am a big fan of good-quality swing-arm 3-way lamps on both sides of the bed...we both read in bed, and I prefer not to have to give up bed-side table space to lamps. I like to indulge my terrible habit of reading too many things at once, and piling books and magazines all over the table... The other advantage of the swing-arm is that you can pull it closer for reading, and push it back/over to light the table attractively.
My rule of thumb for mounting such a lamp is to position it so that the bottom edge of the shade is at my eyebrow height when I'm sitting in the reading position. The light hits the book but not me.
Lamps on the dresser (one or two, depending on their size and its width) and a floor or wall lamp in the dead corners, if you have them.
And I love allison's up-and-down high sconces...a perfect solution for a room that needs reflected ceiling ambient light as well as picture light and warm pools of light all in the same place.
If you do opt for cans, use the smallest ones you can, put a dimmer on them, and place them close to the wall (12 or 18") so that the light washes the wall.

I am in the process of looking for a light fixure for the masterbed room. I am considering some type of chandelier.
Other than that we have the traditional lamps on either side of the bed.

Here are some pictures of the space. Please excuse the dust and clutter. This room is my next redecorating project. The lady over the bed is going bye-bye, as well as the bed coverings, lamps and end tables.

View as you enter the room:

{{!gwi}}

Is this armoire too tall for a lamp?

{{!gwi}}

Entry way niche. This is an especially dark corner which makes it difficult to use the mirror on the door. There are no plugs in this corner.

{{!gwi}}

The 80s vine is coming off the top of the dresser. I could put up lights in the top of the dresser. Is that a dumb idea? The table to the left goes in the attic. Some kind of chair has to stay so DH can put on his shoes.

{{!gwi}}

This is a decent size room but unfortunately no place for a seating arrangement. Every corner of the room has a door except the one to the right of the headboard.

artlover:

Yes -- swing arm lamps would work well on each side of the bed.

Yes -- place a lamp on top of the tall chest

Yes -- place two lamps on the dresser -- you might have to drill two holes in the top half to allow cords to go down BUT it would be worth the effort!

As for the long mirror -- have an electrician wire the wall at the top of the door -- and add a small down-light. He should be able to do this -- because you have a wall switch by the door itself. Similar to bathroom lighting options that would go over a sink and mirror ......

Jan (lamp addict ......)

Here is a link that might be useful: Possible Full-length mirror lighting? Lamps Plus

Jan,

Adding lamps will be a lot easier than adding cans. That electrcian? That would be me. : ). I like the idea of the down-lights over the mirror but don't know if I'm up to fishing wires. Adding cans would be relatively easy since I have easy access to the attic above. Maybe I could add just one can or other ceiling fixture in the mirror/entry niche.

-I have 3-way lights swing arm lamps on the bedsides.
-Large lamp on the dresser across from bed.
-Ceiling fan with light

Looking at your picture, your lamps appear to be too short for the bed. Perhaps, using taller lamps will help give you the added light you need by the bed.

Thanks to this forum, I now have two crystal 3-way lights (60 - 100 - 150 watts) on each side of the bed on bedside tables and two smaller crystal lamps (60 watts) on the double dresser in front of my bed. I really love my peaceful bedroom so much and the lighting is great since I can put all 4 lamps on if I need light or just the one lamp by my bed for reading. Now I seem to need the brightest light when I read when about 5 years ago, even a 40 watt bulb would have been OK.

What is on that dark wood small table to the left of the dresser - perhaps a tv? Can't tell from the pix.

I would add taller lamps on the nightstands, at least as tall, if not taller, than the top of the end posts on the headboard.

I would see about getting some puck lights and putting them into the top of the dresser hutch, so that they shine down onto the dresser top and on the mirror. You could run the cords down the back of the dresser and use a power strip from those plugs to the outlet on the wall.

I would consider putting a tall torchiere sconce or swing arm plug in style light on the wall to the left of the mirrored closet door so that the mirror was useful.

I would move the the trunk out, and move the tall chest to the left. Then put a nice little chair in that corner for your DH to use putting on his shoes. You might also get an estimate on how much it would cost to get an outlet on that wall. Perhaps they could bring power from the ceiling light down the wall, or from the other side of the wall somewhere. Then you could add a floor lamp next to the nice chair in that corner and create a reading corner.

Ceiling fan/light in center of tray ceiling (very seldom use the fan)

2 can lights with dimmer at head of bed (in the boxed area of tray ceiling). Dimmer switch is right next to my headboard. These are probably the MOST used fixtures in the house as we read all the time in bed.

Traditional lamp on husbands side of bed and a salt lamp on my side of the bed.

Thanks everyone. I think I will try more lamps before installing can lights. I will definitely get taller lamps for either side of the bed!

Les, I think you're right about the trunk. I was hoping I could balance it by placing a painting over it, but maybe I'll put in one of the other bedrooms. I'm not sure which corner you mean for a reading corner. If I center the armoire on that wall there will be 2' on either side of it. I also love the idea of the puck lights. That is a DIY project that is right up my ally!